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TESTS FOR COLLEGE CREDIT
- CLEP tests
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COLLEGE LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP)
CLEP tests cover material taught in courses that most students take as requirements in the first two years of college. A college usually grants the same amount of credit to students earning satisfactory scores on the CLEP examination as it grants to students successfully completing that course.
Many examinations are designed to correspond to one-semester courses; some, however correspond to full-year or two-year courses. Unless stated otherwise in its description, an examination is intended to cover material in a one-semester course.
Each exam is 90 minutes long, and, except for English Composition with Essay, is made up primarily of multiple-choice questions; however, some exams do have fill-ins.
CLEP tests are, essentially, final exams for college courses. You can find the names of colleges/universities which accept some or all CLEP test scores for credit toward their degrees the CLEP web site.
There are 34 CLEP tests in all. Those listed in bold type below are what are called general exams, which represent the core or general education courses required by all colleges and universities. You can earn up to six credits for each general exam and three credits for all the others.
Each colleges and university decides for itself if it will accept credits earned through these tests toward its degrees and, if it does accept them, how many credits it will accept. Before you take any of these tests, check with your school to find out if it will accept the results toward your degree.
Unfortunately, ESOs are unable to administer these tests. That is, you must take them at one of the many National Test Centers.
Before you take any of these tests, check with your school to determine whether it will accept without-essay tests.
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Composition & literature |
history & social sciences |
science & mathematics |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Available with or without an additional essay portion. 2 Includes an additional essay portion.
|
|
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business |
foreign languages |
|---|---|
CLEP English Tests
The
College Composition test contains multiple-choice items and two
mandatory essays which are scored by the people who own the CLEP tests.
The
College Composition Modular test contains a multiple-choice section
supplemented by an optional essay section that is provided either by your
college or CLEP. On this test, the essay section is scored by your college.
For more information about these tests, click on the links to these tests in the matrix above.
Preparation Materials
Study materials are no longer be available from the DoD.
Study materials relevant to most of the tests you can take for college credit are now available free through various sources via the Internet. You can find a long list of them by clicking here.
Official CLEP Examination Guides
In addition to many different commercially-published study guides, you can also download the official CLEP Examination Guides for each individual tests. These have an outline of subjects covered by the test (along with the percentage of questions based on each subject), 30 or so questions of the type you're likely to see on the test, and a description of resources to use in preparing for the test.
To find them, go to Navy Knowledge Online, click on the "Learning" tab, and scroll down to the windows labeled "Official CLEP Study Guides Part 1" and "Official CLEP Study Guides Part 2".
Score Reports
After taking a CLEP test at a national test center, you will receive a score report showing how you did on the test.
Costs
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For uniformed personnel and their spouses, and civilian Coast Guard employees, taking a CLEP test for the first time, the exam fee is paid by the Coast Guard through DANTES. You have to pay the registration fee (between $15 and $25, depending on the test center), but may be reimbursed (if you're eligible) through a grant from either the Coast Guard Foundation or Coast Guard Mutual Assistance.
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For all personnel who are re-taking a test (uniformed personnel and their spouses, civilian Coast Guard employees) and for retirees, CGES employees, and Auxiliarists who are taking a test for the first time there will be a charge of $185.
Re-testing
If you fail to pass one of these tests, you may re-take it after a 180-day waiting period. However, you’ll have to pay for all re-tests for the same test yourself. That is, the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) will not pay for you to re-take any of these tests.
Computer-based re-tests: If you’re re-taking a test at a National Test Center (i.e., taking a computerized test), you will be required to pay the examination fee ($185) and registration fee.